URBANA — The University of Illinois campus senate has gone on record supporting the Peoria Tribe of Oklahoma's stance on Chief Illiniwek as a "degrading racial stereotype" that reflects negatively on all American Indians.
By a near-unaninmous vote, the Academic Senate approved a resolution Monday fully supporting the Peoria Tribe's recent statement on the Chief as well as its efforts to "end the public use and appearances of the Chief Illiniwek symbol, logo or mascot."
The sponsors said the Peoria tribe is the only one recognized by the federal government that includes descendants of the original Illinois Indians who once lived on the land now occupied by the university.